Monday, October 24, 2011

THINK ON THESE THINGS - MONDAY

"...MY CUP OVERFLOWS..."
Early in the morning, we love to enjoy a cup of our favorite hot beverage, and especially on these cooler Fall days. But may I ask a question: Does your cup spill over....with blessings I mean? Is it cool to the touch, but delightful to the taste as you draw it near to you? Do you love your cup of delight so much, you went out and got some more people to bring their cups and drink deeply with you?


There is an old 1950's gospel song "Fill my Cup, Lord" which asks the Lord the following:
Fill my cup, Lord;
I lift it up Lord;
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole.



King David said in Psalm 23 the Lord has showered him with so much goodness that:
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil;  my cup runs over (verse 5).


So we see here that a cup is the vessel of Outpouring from heaven. 

But, does God just go about pouring His Holy and blessed goodness into any old vessel? Scripture is clear this is not so. All mankind enjoys a certain amount of grace from our Father in Heaven. The bible says that "rain falls equally" on both the righteous and the unrighteous.  



This explains why we have rich and decadent oil sheiks and poor persecuted Christians, living in squalor, not knowing where their next meal is coming from.
This explains why we have corrupt connected politicians skating by while a family of 8 in rural America struggles to make ends meet. God is evenhanded in the freedom He has given all mankind. How we use this freedom is up to us and our choices.



Be that as it may, the Lord can only use His vessels....and His vessels have to be clean vessels. While Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees in Matthew 23 and telling them to not just wash the outside of the cup and dish, but scrub the inside, He was not just using an illustration of the cleansing of the Word, but setting a standard for how WE must keep our own receptacles (our bodies, the Temple of the Holy Spirit) clean!


He said "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Matthew 23:25-26.



Therefore, unless you are cleansed by the Blood and born again, regenerated and converted through the Workings of the Holy Spirit into a son or daughter of the Living God...and unless your cup and dish has been scrubbed clean by His Word, your cup will remain empty and devoid of the True Treasures of Heaven which last for eternity.


Have you? Are you ready for the Master to fill your cup to overflowing? If not, why not? Now is the time! Today is the day? Grab a cup...do what is necessary and place it in front of the Throne, ready for it to just brim with the Goodness of God! Come on, won't you?!




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